Manatees set for removal from U.S. endangered species list

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

Here's a look at other rare animals whose once-dwindling populations have rebounded. The inspiration for the teddy bear, the Louisiana black bear, will be delisted as a threatened species on March 11, 2015. The bear was originally listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1992 due to habitat loss.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

Citing significant improvements in its population and habitat conditions and reductions in direct threats,the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed downlisting the West Indian manatee from "endangered" to "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

Thanks to conservation efforts by states, landowners and others, the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel -- native to Mid-Atlantic states -- is no longer at risk of extinction. One of the animals included on the first list of endangered species nearly a half-century ago, the squirrel was set to be removed from the list in December 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior said.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

Columbian white-tailed deer, native to Oregon and Washington, were officially listed as endangered in 1967. They were removed from the list in 2003 after the population grew from less than 2,000 to more than 5,500.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The Lake Erie water snake, native to the Great Lake's waters between Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio, was removed from the endangered species list in 2011. The snakes grow to more than 3 feet in length and are not venomous.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

A gray whale calf emerges from the waters off Baja California, Mexico, in 2010. The Pacific gray whales have been protected since 1970 and are at the center of a growing whale-watching industry. They were removed from the endangered species list in 1994, although climate change has impacted their food chain and caused their numbers to decline again in recent years.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The Steller sea lion, native to Alaska, was removed from the list in 2013 after 23 years of federal protection.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The Virginia northern flying squirrel was in danger of extinction in 1985, when scientists documented only 10 remaining animals. But its population made a comeback, and the squirrel was removed from the list in 2013. The squirrel is native to West Virginia and, yes, Virginia. It doesn't really fly, although membranes between its legs serve as "wings" and let it glide from tree to tree.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The American alligator was placed under federal protection in 1979 and removed eight years later thanks to limits on alligator hunting, which had depleted the species.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The gray wolf, which can be found in wilderness areas of the northern American West and Canada, was listed as endangered in 1978. After its populations recovered, the wolf was taken off the list in 2011.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The red kangaroo, the largest of all kangaroo species, is of course native to Australia's arid outback rather than the United States. According to a list released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it was added in 1974 and delisted in 1995.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The American peregrine falcon was classified as endangered in 1970 after its population was decimated by pesticides. By 1975, there were only 324 known nesting pairs of American peregrine falcons. Conservation efforts helped them rebound, and they were removed from the list in 1999. There are now more than 2,000 known breeding pairs of the birds in North America.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

Adult brown pelican, found in the coastal Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, can reach up to 8 pounds and have wingspans of over 7 feet. The birds were listed as endangered in 1970 but taken off the list in 2009.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The bald eagle, a revered American national symbol, was famously endangered for 40 years. By 1963, only 417 known nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the U.S. Vigorous conservation efforts revived the handsome bird, and it was removed from the list in 2007. Today there are more than 10,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the contiguous United States.

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Photos:Endangered no more: Animal species on the rebound

The Aleutian Canada goose, found in Alaska, Canada and the Pacific Northwest, numbered only in the hundreds in the mid-1970s. But efforts to recover the bird population were successful, and biologists estimated that there were 37,000 Aleutian Canada geese by the time the bird was removed from the list in 2001.

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Story highlights

Florida's manatee population has grown 500% since 1991, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says

Improvements in habitat conditions, rescue efforts credited with recovering population

(CNN)The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to remove the West Indian manatee from the endangered species list and reclassify it as "threatened" after "significant improvements" in its population and habitat conditions.

The portly creatures were among the first species added to the list in 1972. There were only an estimated 1,267 manatees in Florida when the agency began aerial surveys of the population in 1991. Today, there are more than 6,300 in Florida, a 500% increase in the species population in the state, the service said.

"The manatee's recovery is incredibly encouraging and a great testament to the conservation actions of many," Cindy Dohner, the Southeast regional director, said in a news release Thursday. "Today's proposal is not only about recognizing this progress, but it's also about recommitting ourselves to ensuring the manatee's long-term success and recovery."

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Manatees set to lose endangered status

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Manatees set to lose endangered status01:28

The announcement is the latest chapter in a decade-long battle to remove the manatee from the endangered species list. The designation came with federal restrictions on such things as boat speed and waterfront development that are credited with protecting the species and reversing its decline.

The Florida Home Builders Association sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2005, demanding a review of the endangered species list. The review concluded in 2007 that manatees could be reclassified from "endangered" to "threatened."

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'Good' news and 'bad' news

When the service failed to act on its own recommendation, residents in Crystal River formed the organization Save Crystal River and filed a petition in 2012 and two lawsuits seeking reclassification to keep additional restrictions from being added, at the request of environmentalists.

"The good news is that the manatee population is increasing and federal officials are finally acknowledging this fact," said attorney Christina Martin, with Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian-leaning watchdog group representing Save Crystal River. The group also represented Florida Home Builders Association.

"The bad news is that federal officials took so long to accept the good news about the manatee's improvement," Martin said in a statement. "We are glad to see that the manatee is doing well, but all taxpayers should demand that the government do much better, going forward, in following the requirements of the Endangered Species Act."

If the manatee is no longer endangered, Brevard County Commissioner Curtis Smith wants to get rid of slow speed zones for boats that took effect in the 1990s to protect the slow-moving manatees from fast boats. Smith says the restriction was based on emotion for the lovable sea cow, not science.

What the change would mean

Conservation groups greeted the news with guarded optimism, questioning the wisdom of applying the status to the entire West Indian species, which includes manatees in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is "happy with the status quo, but the threat is still out there, and it's not going away," said Katie Tripp, director of science and conservation for Save the Manatee Club. "You don't celebrate when you're not done with the game. There's a lot more work to be done to safeguard the habitat, to get manatees removed from the Endangered Species Act altogether."

The act defines an endangered species as one currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.

The manatee also remains protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

A 90-day comment period began Friday, during which the public is invited to submit scientific or technical feedback to help the service reach its final decision on the proposal. If approved, the new classification is not expected to take effect until 2017.

The proposal to downgrade the manatee to "threatened" will not change federal protections credited with reversing the species' decline, according to the service. Those measures include regulated boat speed requirements and habitat protection.

"The manatee is one of the most charismatic and instantly recognizable species," said Michael Bean, principal deputy assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior.

"It's hard to imagine the waters of Florida without them, but that was the reality we were facing before manatees were listed under the Endangered Species Act. While there is still more work to be done to fully recover manatee populations, their numbers are climbing and the threats to the species' survival are being reduced."